Eggshells
Howdy! This is my very first fanfic so please keep that in mind if you critique. Warning for character death and an instance of crude language. The main characters are my OCs Wildfire and Seastar. The story and characters belong to me, bpdstanley. Hope you enjoy! Chapter One Wildfire never thought she would be a mother. Frankly, she loathed small dragonets. But these dragonets would be different: it was hers. She sat in her craggy nest high in the Claws of the Clouds Mountains, the moons setting in the distance. She had three eggs: a large reddish-pink one, an indigo one, and a small orange one. They all were due to hatch in the morning. Wildfire looked to the east at the pink horizon then at her eggs with worry. She turned to her mate who beside her, a purple SeaWing named Seastar. "It's almost morning, shouldn't they be hatching by now?" she asked, anxiety creeping into her voice. She knew one of the reason hybrids dragons are rare is because they were prone to having deformities. Were her eggs doomed to the same fate? Starfish quickly laid one of his violet wings over her back comfortingly and took her talons in his. "The sun isn't even all the way above the horizon yet, they'll be fine. Why don't you tell me what they'll look like?" He knew that wouldn't put her completely at ease but by giving her something to talk about she wouldn't dwell on her anxieties. Wildfire gave a small smile, appreciating his effort and listing in great detail her predictions on their three dragonets. They both sat there in tense yet hopeful anticipation as the sun slowly climbed the sky behind them. Chapter Two The sun had finally risen above the horizon line. Only the largest egg was beginning to move while the other two remained still. Wildfire's tail twitched nervously and she turned to Seastar, who's face began to show concern as well. "Star," she said, using his affectionate nickname. "What do we do? Junebug said eggs can hatch late but two haven't even moved yet. Do we help them? Should we get her here? Are they going to be okay?" Seastar ruffled his wings slightly at the mention of the MudWing. "Well we can't get her, she's a day's flight away from here. But I do think we should try and encourage the littlest one; I don't think eggs should be that small." He carefully took the orange egg in his webbed talons, although Wildfire didn't seem too pleased by this. He gently tapped the shell with a claw and waited for a moment, hoping to get a reaction. He put his ear up to it but didn't hear a heartbeat or the scrabbling of little claws. His frown deepened and WIldfire's eyes widened. "It's not dead, is it? Three moons above it can't be dead!" Seastar looked at her sadly, his eyes saying it all. Wildfire stood up abruptly and took the egg from his claws swiftly and rather carelessly, but she was in too much of a frenzy to notice. She sat on her haunches and held the egg up against the blinding light of the sun. Seastar squawked, "Wildfire, what in Pyrrhia are you doing? You'll drop it!" Wildfire turned to him and snapped, "June said you can see inside an egg if you hold it to a light." She squinted against the light and looked for the shape of a dragonet in the egg. There was none. Chapter Three Wildfire gently placed the empty egg down with shaking claws and staggered back. Seastar took it and saw. This egg never held a dragonet in the first place. He looked at his mate, who sat next to her two remaining eggs in shock. "What... what do we do with it?" he asked in a stunned whisper. He was prepared for a sick or dead dragonet but not for none at all. He looked over at Wildfire who grabbed the other motionless egg and held it up to the sun frantically. He nearly dropped the empty orange egg when she yelped, "This one has a dragonet! I can see it!" She laughed in relief, and cradled the egg closer. Seastar placed the empty egg off to the side and scrambled over. She was right, he could see the shape of the small dragonet inside. Maybe he wouldn't be a father of three but he would have two dragonets to raise with his mate. He was broken from his daydreams by a sudden silence from Wildfire and then a wavering whisper. "Why isn't it moving?" She began to panic. "Why isn't it moving? It's not trying to break out! Oh moons it can't be... No, I refuse!" Wildfire tapped the eggshell firmly with a sharp claw, creating a small hole. Seastar quickly grabbed her wrist and held it in place.. "What the hell are you doing?! Are you trying to kill it?" "No! I'd never hurt my dragonets! I'm helping it!" She easily pulled her arm away from him and began picking away bits of the indigo shell. Seastar grabbed the egg and tried to pull it away from her. "Let it go! It'll hatch on its own time!" "It needs help!" "YOU'RE KILLING IT!" "I'M HELPING IT!" Suddenly the half broken egg slipped from both of their claws and fell to the cave floor, shattering. In the epicenter was a small deep purple dragonet who laid there unmoving. Chapter Four They both stood there in horrified silence for a moment before a shrill shriek pierced the cold mountain air. Wildfire swept down over the tiny body and held it delicately with her large talons. Seastar took a tentative step over to her and laid a gentle hand on her strong shoulder, which quivered and heaved with her sobs. She flinched but then leaned into his touch. Seastar spoke softly but with an undeniable waver, "She was dead from the start. It's...It's not our fault." They both sat and mourned their lost daughter for a few more moments. Then Seastar gently lifted the small form and brought her outside of the cave. Wildfire followed him closely and stopped in front of a small shrub growing from the mountainside. She lightly brushed her mate with her tail who stopped, knowing what she meant. She carefully began moving rocks and dirt aside to make a hollow in the earth deep enough for their daughter who never had the chance to live. Seastar delicately laid the tiny dragonet in the hole, placed in a way she looked only as if she was sleeping. He and Wildfire began piling the rocks back into the grave as the afternoon sun beat down on them. They walked back into their cave to find their one remaining egg to find a small hole had formed and a tiny pink snout poking through. Seastar shook his mate's shoulder and nearly shouted, "Look, they're hatching! We're going to be parents after all!" Wildfire immediately perked up with shining eyes and sprinted over to the magenta egg, curling around it as if it was the most valuable piece of treasure in Pyrhhia. Seastar was close behind and sat with her, watching as the little dragon inside emerged. The egg holding it continued to crack and split and shatter until it sat in a pile of broken eggshell, between its loving parents. This dragonet was a bit large for a hatchling and had bright amaranth pink colored scales. He had a stripe of dark purple scales running down his back and golden underscales. His snout was well sculpted like a SkyWing's but with the signature dewlap all SeaWings share. He stretched his large lavender wings out and yawned before looking back up at his parents curiously with wide amber eyes. "Look at him! We have a perfect son," Wildfire said, her voice dripping with adoration. She put out a claw and the dragonet in question grabbed it with his own. She turned back to Seastar, her gold eyes sparkling. "What do we name him? Maybe Everest or Thornclaws. Or what about Hibiscus? Wait, wait, Sunrise!" Seastar was grinning widely, happy to see his beloved smile and to see his new son. "Sunrise sounds nice. His scales look just like one. That was when he started trying to hatch, too," he noted. He gently nuzzled Sunrise and laid beside him and Wildfire. The small dragonet seemed to wheeze for a moment but he assumed that being so small and half SeaWing made it a little harder to breathe so high in the mountains. He also had trouble breathing sometimes in the thin air but flaring his gills seemed to help. In any case, Wildfire didn't seem concerned so he must be alright; he'll adapt quickly and soon they can all go flying and visit the beach and play on the fine white sand and swim in the warm waters. They sat there and played with their surviving son until he grew weary and nuzzled up to his mother's warm red scales and slept, his chest rising and falling ever so slightly as he snored. Seastar looked up and saw the sun was setting, bathing them all in pink light. He looked over at Wildfire who also fell asleep, emotionally exhausted but content. Seastar laid his head down as well and thought to himself everything is going to be okay after all before drifting into a dreamless sleep. Chapter Five Seastar awoke abruptly to large talons shaking him aggressively. He sleepily opened his eyes and saw the moons and the silhouette of his mate above him. "Wha? Wildfire? It's late, why are you up now? Please don't tell me you wanna go out on another midnight snack run," he said, remembering the last time he was dragged along into her crazy schemes with a shudder. She snarled irritably (she must be really upset if she's snapping at me, he mused), "Now's not the time for jokes, it's Sunrise!" Seastar stared at her in confusion and pointed his tail to the entrance of their cave. "No, it's very clearly midni-" Then it hit him and he stood up suddenly, "What's wrong with him?" He couldn't hide the growing anxiety in his voice. Wildfire turned her snout at a small shadow on the floor of the cave, her eyes burning with sorrow and anger and confusion. Seastar tripped over his webbed claws as he rushed to his son. Sunrise was still, too still, too much like his recently lost daughter they had to bury the afternoon prior. He relaxed ever so slightly when he saw his chest rise with a shuddering breath because he isn't dead he's still here. He turned to his mate. "What do we do? He can't make the trip to Junebug or even down the mountain". He turned back to the pink hatchling and rested a gentle talon on his shoulder. Wildfire stood there still for a moment, despair lining her face. Suddenly, she marched over and picked up the struggling dragonet with determination flaring in her eyes. "I'm taking him to Junebug," she stated in a tense voice. She held Sunrise gently yet firmly in her musclular arms and made her way to the entrance of the cave. Seastar began after her but faltered halfway, knowing little would change her mind. He sat helplessly on the cold rocky ground. "Wildfire... Do you really think you can catch up to her? She has to be half way to the Rain Kingdom by now". Wildfire glanced back at him. "We won't know if we don't try". She spread her massive wings in preparation to fly. "Now no more wasting time," she said as another rasping breath left from her son. "If I'm not back in the next two days, you know where to find me". She took off and quickly became nothing more than a red speck on the horizon. Seastar slowly laid down. She knew she meant she would be at the tavern in the valley below which would mean exactly what he feared: Sunrise was dead. He closed his eyes and slipped into a deep slumber, awaiting the return of his mate and hopefully, his son as well. Epilogue It had been a little over a year since Seastar found Wildfire and learned Sunrise died on the trip south. He was heartbroken, but Wildfire was absolutely devastated. She spent many months grieving, refusing to eat or drink or fly or much of anything without much prompting from him. She had been doing better lately, although nowhere near her usual self. They lived rather quietly in their new cave, located close to Deux City. It was somewhat craggy and large enough to give them both their own space and opened onto a beach, where the waves would lap at the entrance at high tide. Wildfire spent most of her time hunting or seeing what jobs she could get in nearby bars. Seastar still managed to shirk his diplomatic duties with some bribery so he could spend more time with her, knowing she needed it. He sat at his worn wooden desk reading a scroll silently. His ear twitched when he heard Wildfire stand up suddenly. She's likely going on another hunting trip, he thought. But her clawsteps were walking towards him. He looked back at her, his reading glasses still adorning his face and making her look blurry. "Hm? What is it?" Wildfire usually left with nothing but a quiet 'I'm going out'. Her gaze was steely and a firm expression on her face. "I want to try again." Seastar quirked an eyebrow at her. "Try what again? If it was that match you lost, I don't think you can schedule another one just yet." "I mean I want to try and have dragonets again."Category:Fanfictions Category:Genre (Tragedy) Category:Fanfictions (Semi-Canon) Category:Fanfictions (Completed)